A board of trustees, an advisory council and an executive team share responsibility for the Institute's finances, its research quality and its independence.
Good governance is what keeps our stated commitments enforceable. Responsibility is deliberately separated: the board of trustees oversees strategy, finance and the annual independence audit; the advisory council reviews research methodology; and the executive leads the work day to day. No single person controls both the funding of a study and the conclusions it reaches.
The Institute is constituted as an independent, non-partisan research institute — a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity, registered in England and Wales. Its trustees serve without remuneration and are collectively responsible, in law, for the Institute’s solvency, the proper use of its funds and the protection of its independence.
The board holds ultimate responsibility for the Institute's strategy, financial governance and the protection of its independence. It appoints the executive and oversees the annual independence audit.
Chair, Board of Trustees
Former Chair, the Aldous Council for Research Governance
Has chaired the Board of Trustees since 2024, after a career in the governance of research and charitable organisations. She leads the board that holds the executive to account for the Institute's research standards, financial management and independence.
Trustee & Treasurer
Independent economist, formerly Director of the Belcombe Office for National Statistics
Oversees financial governance and the annual independence audit. A founding trustee, on the board since 2021.
Trustee
Professor of Public Policy, the University of Hartsmere
Advises the board on research quality and editorial standards. Joined the board in 2023.
Trustee
Former Chief Economist, the Marentes Multilateral Development Bank
Brings experience overseeing large-scale comparative studies across Latin America. Joined the board in 2024.
The advisory council brings external, subject-specific expertise. Its members review methodology and read flagship studies before publication, without holding any financial or managerial role in the Institute.
Advisory Council, Health Systems
Epidemiologist, the Ashvale Institute for Public Health
Reviews health-systems methodology and survey design. Advising the Institute since 2022.
Advisory Council, Climate & Environment
Senior researcher, the Vasaberg Institute for Energy Systems
Advises on climate-data methods and scenario modelling. Advising the Institute since 2023.
Advisory Council, Security & Strategic Affairs
Former analyst, the Cirta Institute for Strategic Studies
Reviews studies on geopolitical risk and defence economics for methodological rigour. Advising since 2024.
Advisory Council, Markets & Industry
Independent market analyst, formerly at the Naniwa Manufacturers' Association
Advises on market-sizing and competitive-intelligence methods. Advising the Institute since 2022.
The executive leads the Institute's research and operations, and is accountable to the board for research quality, methodological standards and the disclosure of funding and conflicts.
Executive Director
International Research Institute
Became Executive Director in 2022, after eight years advising regional bodies on regulatory reform and public-sector capacity; she continues to publish on state capacity and administrative reform.
Director of Research
International Research Institute
Oversees research quality, methods and peer review across all nine research areas. Joined the Institute in 2022.
The structure is designed so that no funding relationship can reach into a published finding. Commissioning and finance sit with the executive and are overseen by the board; judgements about methods and evidence sit with the research team and are checked by the advisory council and external reviewers.
This separation is what allows us to state, credibly, that a funder cannot approve, edit or delay a result. Read how that plays out in practice on our independence and funding page, and how it is applied to each study in our editorial standards.
We are happy to discuss our governance, partnerships and funding.